Wednesday, April 17, 2013

The retirement of Black Caviar: farewell to a legend

The parade of international stars began a few short years
ago. Deep Impact. Vodka. Zarkava. Sea the Stars. Canford Cliffs. Goldikova.
Frankel. As the procession passed by, each star shone a little brighter until
we reached Black Caviar. From her modest beginnings in spring 2009, Black
Caviar had improved with every race run and every year gone by until at last,
her star shone so brightly that it was seen around the world.

Until suddenly, the light of her star is but a
memory. As of today, Black Caviar is retired.

It was January of 2010. I do not remember why or how, but my
husband and I found ourselves staying up late one night to watch a dark beauty from Australia. As a turf sprinter, she was something of an oddity
for us cut-and-dried American race fans. But there was nothing strange about
her once she sprung from the gates and flowed into motion, for the beauty of
her style transcended boundaries. From that moment on, it was clear to me that
Black Caviar was something very special.

Due to international time zone constraints, it was not
possible for us to watch every single race of hers live. We tried hard,
however, and I cannot count the number of times we stayed up until the wee
hours of the morning, awaiting her presence on our television screen. Once, in
the middle of a late night/early morning drive to Louisville, we pulled into a
restaurant parking lot to watch Black Caviar race on my husband’s smartphone.
The date was November 6, 2010, and we were en-route to watching another dark bay mare run her final race at Churchill Downs. That day, Black Caviar remained
undefeated while Zenyatta did not, but it was a date to remember.

How can a single horse so captivate people around the world?
Was it her color—that near-black, glossy dark bay, with the distinctive pink and black
polka dot silks? Was it her enthusiasm before each race, which was so clear in
the way she tossed her proud head? Was it her great gliding stride, which
carried her over the turf with devastating ease? Was it the aura of unearthly perfection that she possessed, which traveled through time and boundaries and into living rooms around the world?

We are always in search of perfection, yet it is seldom found. In Black Caviar, we got a very rare long look at perfection in its most brilliant form. Only one horse has been undefeated in more than 25 starts: the great 19th-century Hungarian mare, Kincsem, who was unbeaten in 54 races. In addition, of Black Caviar's 25 races, 24 were graded/grouped stakes and 23 were against males, which makes her accomplishments all the more remarkable.

Thanks for the memories, "Nelly", it was a privledge and a great honor to watch you run.

1 comment:

About Heidi

A longtime fan of horse racing, I have always been inspired by the beauty of Thoroughbreds. My best muse is my off-track Thoroughbred, Limerick (registered as Amanda Bry). I live in the Chicago suburbs with my husband and four cats, and am a writer for a local business. I am also a photo essayist for Horse Racing Nation ("Portrait of the Thoroughbred"). Follow me on Twitter @AmandaBry91